“The fighting took on” Ibid., 66 2.
XV. A LONG FAREWELL
Plutarch’s life of Antony is the main source for Antony’s and Cleopatra’s last days, supported by Dio. Peter Green’s From Alexander to Actium gives background on Hellenistic culture and Ptolemaic Egypt.
“all the solitude he could desire” Plut Ant 69 1.
“A young man” Vell Pat 2881.
“actually kill” Dio 51 6.
his seal ring This ring was later replaced by one with the head of Alexander the Great. His last seal ring showed Augustus’ head and was used by his successors.
his fifty-fourth year Three years have been proposed for the date of Antony’s birth: 86, 83, and 81. I assume 83, the most popular date among modern scholars.
“Cleopatra and Antony now dissolved” Plut Ant 71 3.
“There are many different ways” Ibid., 75 1.
“about the hour of midnight” Ibid., 75 3–4.
“clinging with both hands” Ibid., 77 3.
“greatest emporium” Strabo 17 1 13.
“No Latin ruler” Ernle Bradford, Cleopatra (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1971), p. 49.
“she had abandoned” Plut Ant 83 1.
“by no means insensible” Ibid., 84 1.
“So here it is”: Ibid., 86 1.
“lying dead upon a golden couch” Ibid., 85 3–4.
“no one knows clearly” Dio 51 14 1. For a helpful discussion of asp bites, see Sunday Times of London article, “Cleopatra and the Asp” by Richard Girling. November 28, 2004. www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2099-1362193,00.htm.
It is possible For this theory, see W. R. Johnson, Arion (Boston: Boston University Press, 1967), p. 393 n. 16.
he was no looter Suet Aug 71 1.
“Would you now like” Ibid., 18 2.
Julius Caesar was accused Green, p. 667 n. 151.
“indiscreet talk when drunk” Ovid Trist 2446.
“I am the only man in Rome” Suet Aug 66 2.
having sexual intercourse Pliny 7 184.
a bridge over the stream See L. A. Holland, Janus and the Bridge, Papers and Monographs, American Academy in Rome. 21, 1961.
XVI. ABDICATION
The quality of the ancient literary sources now declines sharply, and many episodes are only known about in general and partial terms. Sometimes years pass without explicit incident. This chapter draws on Suetonius, Velleius Paterculus, and (above all) Dio Cassius. The archaeological record is of considerable but occasional assistance. The description of the Palatine is indebted to the official guidebook, The Palatine (Milan: Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, pub. Electa, 1998).
“Wars, both civil and foreign” Res Gest 13.
“Plotting destruction to” Hor Odes 1376–12.
“High up on the poop” Virgil Aen 8 678–81.
“Atia’s [his mother’s] emphatic declaration” Dio 45 1 2–5; also the source for other episodes in this section.
“Romans, you shall have an end” Plut Cic 44 3.
“cheerful in mind and disposition” Vell Pat 2932.
minimum ages of officeholders See Syme RR, p. 369.
physical incompatibility Pliny 757.
“more a rustic at heart” Ibid., 35 26.
a collector on a grand scale Ibid., 35 26 and 34 62.
“outdo a woman” Vell Pat 2882.
heated swimming pool Dio 5576.
“Goodbye, my ebony of Medullia” Macr 24.
“was…well-disciplined” Vell Pat 2791.
is said to have worn a sword Suet Aug 35 1–2.
“I lay down my office” Dio 53 4 3–4.
presumably with proconsular authority There has been much scholarly debate about the nature of Octavian’s powers. Some say that they were proconsular (cf. Pompey’s governorship of Spain in the fifties B.C.), others that his imperium as consul was sufficient. The difficulty with the latter explanation is that a consul’s imperium lasted only one year. Even though Octavian had developed the habit of assuming the consulship annually, that could not guarantee authority over his provincia for a decade.
“in recognition of my valour” Res Gest 34.
“When I had put an end” Ibid.
“After this time” Ibid.
XVII. WHOM THE GODS LOVE
Dio is the main narrative source, with contributions from Suetonius and Virgil.
Whom the Gods Love [die young] Men Double, Fragment 4.
The princeps was superstitious Suet Aug 92 1.
On a night march Ibid., 29 3.
“from the fatigue and anxiety” Dio 53 25 7.
Livia accompanied her husband Tac Ann 334. Livia’s grandson Drusus made this claim in A.D. 21.
Livia was an able businesswoman For Livia’s business interests, see Barrett, chapter 9.
Marcus Primus, the governor of Macedonia Dio dates this episode and the Caepio plot to 22 B.C.; but Augustus’ presence is required and in that year he was abroad. Also by that time he had imperium maius and was entitled to interfere where he wished.
“The loftiest pines” Hor Odes 2104–8, 21–22. It is possible that the poem was written after Murena’s fall, but presented as prophetic.
The praetor, or presiding judge Dio 54 3 3.
“since he was notoriously rough-tongued” Ibid., 34.
abscesses on the liver Suet Aug 81 1.
“severe pain in the right part” Celsus 415.
“all cold things” Ibid.
It has been suggested See John Buchan, Augustus (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1937), p. 161.
a general and overriding proconsular authority There is a dispute whether this was maius imperium proconsulare, “greater proconsular authority,” allowing him to override or give orders to governors of the senatorial provinces, or aequum imperium proconsulare, “equal proconsular authority,” which would allow him to raise matters with governors but not to command them. The former is perhaps more probable (because of the discovery of five edicts from Cyrene that show Augustus intervening directly in provincial business: Ehrenberg and Jones Documents n 311, translated in Lewis and Rheinhold, Roman Civilization 236ff); if the latter, Augustus would have had to get his way by deploying his prestige, or auctoritas.
“secret coup d’état” Syme RR, p. 345.
“had felt that Augustus” Suet Aug 66 3.
Marcellus was not well disposed Dio 53 32 1.
“scandalous sending away of Agrippa” Pliny 7149.
“Fate shall allow the earth” Virg Aen 6 869–70, 882–86.
“sweet and strangely seductive” Suet Virg 32.
It was whispered that Livia Dio 53 33 4.
“You have made him” Ibid., 54 6 5.
“stepmother to ships” Aesch Prom 727.
poison had been sprinkled Tac Ann 110.
Nonius Asprenas Suet Aug 56 3.
XVIII. EXERCISING POWER
Dio is the main source, with Suetonius (his life of Augustus now being supplemented by that of Tiberius).
He was strongly and heavily built This description of Tiberius’ appearance and personality is drawn from Suet Tib 68. Contemporary statues and busts of him have also been used.
abstruse and unanswerable questions Suet Tib 70 3.
“I compelled the Parthians” Res Gest 29.
“better qualified to be a gladiator” Vell Pat 2913.
an ingenious scheme Dio 54 13.
“I don’t understand that!” Suet Aug 54.
In his official memoir For these expenses see Res Gest 16.
XIX. THE CULT OF VIRTUE
Dio provides the basic information. Virgil and Horace embody the Augustan regime’s aspirations in verse.
“Of late years” Livy.
“praised Pompey so warmly” Tac Ann 434.
“fashionable designations” Ibid.
“the righteous are set apart” Virg Aen 8 670.
“Turn not your country’s hand” Ibid., 6833
.
“to seek to keep the constitution” Macr 2418.
“rule an Italy” Virg Aen 4 228–30.
“And here, here” Ibid., 6 791–94.
“large inconvenience of wealth” Hor Odes 3148.
“Family pride” Ibid., 32419–22.
“If we could get on without a wife” Aul Gell 16.
According to Suetonius Suet Aug 71 1.
“guide and command” Dio 54 16 4.
“Let us turn our minds” Ibid., 16 6.
the general population was rising Suet Aug 29 1, 46 1.
“preserve a significant distinction” Dio 56 33 3.
In later years The lex Fufia Caninia was passed in 2 B.C. and the lex Aelia Sentia in A.D. 4.
“You shall pay” Hor Odes 361–5.
“After a sacrifice was completed” Old CAH, p. 477.
“Goddess [Diana], make strong our youth” Hor Cent 17–20.
“Now Faith and Peace” Ibid., 57–60.
XX. LIFE AT COURT
Most of the material in this chapter derives from anecdotes in Suetonius (with additional material about Livia from Barrett, and general information on daily life in ancient Rome from Carcopino, Dupont, and Smith). Suetonius seems usually reliable or at least plausible, for he had access to the imperial archives and quoted from documents, as well as to contemporary (but now lost) memoirs. Many of the anecdotes are undated and doubtless refer to different times in Augustus’ reign.
“remarkable neither for size” Suet Aug 72 1.
“Whenever he wanted” Ibid., 72 2.
“would hardly be considered fit” Ibid., 73 1.
“Anyone would think” Ibid., 53 3.
a court developed This section is indebted to Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, “The Imperial Court,” CAH, pp. 283–308.
they may have been loosely arranged This judgment is based on the departments known to have been established by later emperors.
“stink of far-fetched phrases” Suet Aug 86 1.
Letters of his seen by Suetonius Ibid., 87 1.
“What in the world has become of Ajax?” Ibid., 86 5.
the last letter “X” was the last letter for Latin words. “Y” was employed for foreign words; “Z” appeared in the earliest Roman alphabet, but ceased to be written. From the first century B.C. it returned into use when transliterating the letter ? in a Greek word.
“I take it, of course” Ibid., 33 1.
When appearing in public Ibid., 53 1–2.
“I had some bread” Ibid., 76 1.
“On the way back” Ibid., 76 2.
“He who has been engaged” Celsus 125–7.
“Don’t suppose you’ll ever catch her” Ovid Pont 31142.
a certain standard See Barrett, pp. 105–6. Livia’s personal servants are recorded late in her life, but there is little reason to suppose that her household was much different at an earlier date.
“simplex munditiis” Hor Odes 155.
the wine she habitually drank Pliny 14 60.
recipes for various ailments Barrett, pp. 110–12.
“noble and undaunted spirit” Plut T & C Grac 19 1.
“Among their number” Sall Bell Cat 23 3.
a feminine bully Tac Ann 14.
“to enjoy the fun” Suet Aug 45 1.
“modest enough” Ibid., 72 3.
the unappetizing Publius Vedius Pollio Dio 54 23.
“though refulgent with portraits” Ovid Trist 2 521–24.
dragging a former consul’s wife For this paragraph, see Suet Aug 69 1–2, 71 1.
“still to have harboured a passion” Ibid., 71 1.
when Cato vowed Plut Cat Min 56 4.
advisory inscription The inscription is at the “House of the Moralist.”
XXI. GROWING THE EMPIRE
Dio and Suetonius are the main sources, albeit somewhat thin.
“the existing number” Dio 54 9 1.
“I enlarged the territory” Res Gest 26.
“whose empire” Virg Aen 186–89.
“guard our young swarm” Hor Odes 13529–32.
This three-part plan of action This strategic analysis is indebted to J.F.C. Fuller’s classic study, The Decisive Battles of the Western World. See vol. 1 of the abridged edition (1970), pp. 167ff. For a more ad hoc–ist interpretation, see Erich S. Gruen, “The Expansion of the Empire Under Augustus,” CAH, pp. 147–97.
“Your brother Drusus” Suet Aug 71 3.
“My state of health” Suet Tib 21 6.
a plot against the princeps This is one of those tiresome incidents that bedevil the literary sources for the second part of Augustus’ life. It is reported twice, in Sen Clem 19 and in Dio 55 14–22 (where Livia delivers a long curtain-lecture). Cinna’s first names are given differently; Seneca probably dates the episode to 16–13 B.C. and Dio to A.D. 4. The whole affair sounds as if it could simply be a rhetorical exercise mistaken for a historical event. The truth? We shall never know.
The length of a legionary’s service Decided in 13 B.C. on Augustus’ return to Rome.
“state of tranquillity” Strabo 469.
unendurable pain from gout Pliny 23 27.
he strongly disapproved of Julia Suet Tib 72–3.
A sharp-eyed great-grandson This was Gaius, nicknamed Caligula, Drusus’ youngest son, and later emperor (A.D. 37–41).
A great altar to Augustus Strabo 432.
he used to chase German chieftains Suet Clau 14.
Drusus had a riding accident Livy Per 142.
Tiberius heard the news Val Max 553 and Pliny 784.
“old Republican constitution” Suet Clau 14.
“In point of fact” Ibid., 15.
some truth in the claim See Levick, pp. 32–35.
“Cripple my hand” Sen Ep 101 10ff.
“The same day” Hor Odes 2178–12.
“my purest of pricks” All the anecdotes in this section about Augustus and Horace come from the life of Horace in Suet De Vir Ill.
XXII. A FAMILY AT WAR
The often mysterious events of these years are inadequately covered by Dio, some of whose text is missing; Suetonius (in the lives of both Augustus and Tiberius) makes a contribution. Tacitus offers a few barbed insights.
Their adoptive father devoted time and energy Suet Aug 64 3.
“They not only lived” Dio 55 9 1–2.
“provided they deserve” Suet Aug 56 2.
imperium maius This is not explicitly stated in the sources; I follow Levick, pp. 35–36 and endnote 24, p. 237.
a warning to the unruly Gaius and Lucius Dio 55 9 4.
“he was weary” Suet Tib 10 2.
“he greeted and chatted” Ibid., 11 1.
Many governors had friendly connections See Levick, pp. 42–44.
“his retirement was more worthy” Vell Pat 2994.
The eldest, Germanicus For this account of Germanicus, see Suet Gaius 31–1.
“a monster, not finished” Suet Clau 32.
“He’s as big a fool” Ibid.
“I have always chosen” Plut Brut 53 3.
“Caesar Augustus, the Senate agrees” Suet Aug 58 2.
“Fathers of the Senate” Ibid.
a naval battle Dio 55 10 7–8 and Res Gest 423.
Once when his father See Green, Erot, p. 19.
“All we need is your consent” Ovid Am 2265–66.
“not to say or do anything” Suet Aug 64 2.
“You have acted presumptuously” Ibid.
“This dress” Macr 255. Macrobius is a late source, but there is no reason to distrust his stories about Julia.
“Passengers are never allowed” Ibid., 259.
“I should have preferred” Suet Aug 65 2.
“should anything happen to her” Ibid., 101 3.
“solemn names” Tac Ann 324.
“unique depravity disguised” Vell Pat 2 100 5.
“This shrewd” Tac Ann 153.
an emblem of liberty Serv Ad Aen 320.
&n
bsp; It may be no coincidence Dio 55 9 10, and 10 1.
“his daughter’s adultery” Pliny 7149.
Livia also seems See Barrett, p. 51.
“Fire will sooner” Dio 55 13 1.
“If you ever” Suet Aug 65 3.
XXIII. THE UNHAPPPY RETURN
Information on important events is scanty. Dio’s and Suetonius’ lives of Augustus and Tiberius are the main sources. The poet Ovid casts enigmatic light on the exile of the younger Julia and his own banishment.
He received a letter from his stepson For this paragraph and the next, see Suet Tib 11 and 12.
“companion and guide” Ibid., 12 2.
“fired by the fame of Arabia” Pliny 12 31.
“Dis aliter visum” Virgil Aen 258.
“Greetings, my Gaius” Aul Gell 1573.
Lollius had been taking bribes Vell Pat 2 102 1, Pliny 958.
“fetch back the exile’s head” Suet Tib 13 1.
While laying siege Florus 23244–45.
“defects” Vell Pat 2 102 3.
“through old age and sickness” Dio 55 13 1a.
“atrox fortuna” Suet Tib 23.
“secret diplomacy” Tac Ann 13.
“for reasons of state” Suet Tib 21 3.
“animal-like confidence” Tac Ann 13.
“because he was afraid” Dio 55 27 5.
“because [his] conduct” Suet Aug 65 4.
accused of plotting Ibid., 19 1, and Scholiast on Juvenal 6 158; see Green, Erot, p. 57.
“Ah, never to have married” Hom Il 340. Hector is speaking to Paris.
“my three boils” Suet Aug 65 4.
Augustus exiled Ovid See Green, Erot, pp. 44–58, for an excellent and full account, which I follow.
“Why did I see what I saw?” Ovid Trist 2103–6.
In Rome there was a severe famine For this section about discontent at Rome, see Dio 55 27.
“I never sought to procure” Ovid Trist 3545–48.
XXIV. THE BITTER END
For the last part of Augustus’ life, we depend on Dio (despite lacunae), on the overenthusiastic Velleius, and on Suetonius’ lives of Augustus and Tiberius. The site of the main ambush of Varus’ legions has been discovered at Kalkriese in Germany (see The Quest for the Lost Roman Legions: Discovering the Varus Battlefield, by Tony Clunn [New York and Spellmount, Staplehurst, UK: Savas Beatie, 2005]).
“The Pannonians possessed” Vell Pat 2 110 5.
“Your summer campaigns” Suet Tib 21 5.
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